Introduction With the acceleration of urbanization and the Chinese government policy in reducing the cost of mineral transportation and other factors, the construction of the Tso-ngon -Lhasa Railway in the Tibet plateau has started at the beginning of 2007. This railroad provides a major access route into Tibet from Siling to Lhasa which extends to 1118 km. The construction began…
In the age of rapid technological advancement, as the news outlets in China increasingly goes digital, and as television goes mobile, the digital ecosystem has become one of the major concerns to the Chinese leadership and its rule. As part of its political propaganda, Beijing has been setting different communication strategies to control the outflow of news by instrumentalizing and…
Tibet is rich in natural resources including rare earths, which many fear Beijing plans to exploit without protecting the environment Before the invasion of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), mining was rarely conducted in that region. Within the Tibetan cultural sphere, mining and ground disturbance are often said to remove “the bcud [nutrition or essence] of the earth, of which…
Two separate reports have flagged China’s expansionist policy and its growing exploits at the border For the past few years, the security environment in Asia has been covered by clouds of distrust and suspicion. From the Doklam stand-off to the Galwan Valley clash, China has frequently broken its promises and India’s trust. The Pentagon report of 2021, too, confirms China’s two faces towards India. The…
The Chinese government is eradicating the sense of Tibetan identity among the younger generations For the past few years, a series of notices and new laws have created an environment where Tibetan children are prevented from learning the Tibetan language. For instance, in the 14th Five-Year Plan of the Chinese government, which was adopted on March 11 by the…
Modi’s call to the Dalai Lama on his birthday was also seen by many as a departure from his earlier approach. The recent landmark meeting of the US Secretary of the State, Antony Blinken, with the representative of the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, New Delhi, Ngodup Dongchung, and also with Geshe Dorji Damdul, the Director of the…
In the ongoing nation-wide leadership reshuffle, the Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, announced the appointment of Wang Junzheng as the Party Secretary of the “Tibet Autonomous Region” (TAR), alongside with the appointment of six other party secretaries. One could argue that the decision to replace Wu Yingjie (b.1956), former Party Secretary of the TAR, was probably due to…
In the midst of leadership reshuffle ahead of the much-awaited once-in-a-decade leadership transition during the forthcoming 20th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong based English-language portal, reported on a transfer of one of the highest Tibetan party officials of the “Tibet Autonomous Region” (TAR). According to the report, Che Dalha (b.1958),…
Chinese president Xi Jinping visited the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) from July 21 to 23 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its supposed “Peaceful Liberation of Tibet.” Though his visit came as a surprise with no official announcement, but not entirely without indication. Two official notices were issued just ahead of Xi’s visit. Lhasa municipality People’s Government issued…
China is trying hard to install the next Dalai Lama, a puppet in Communist Party’s hands, despite zero credibility. China has been leaving no stone unturned to sell its claims — through various means — in installing the next Dalai Lama despite zero credibility. They called the Dalai Lama a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and used indigestible derogatory remarks against him. However,…
In future whatever happens inside Tibet may matter for the Indian security environment and also that of Asia as well. For the past few years, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has upgraded its high-tech weapons and conducted a series of live-fire military exercises along the Himalayan borders and in Tibet. For Instance, Global Times reported on 5 January, 2020 that “China’s latest weapons…
China’s rapid 5G build-up has come to Tibet. That will have security implications for India. China today is one of the biggest spenders on research and development (R&D) in the world. In 2020, China’s spending on R&D increased by 10.3 percent to 2.44 trillion renminbi ($378 billion), accounting for 2.4 percent of its GDP. In March 2021, during the annual session of…
Chinese president Xi Jinping had just concluded a three-day inspection tour to Qinghai province in the run up to the centenary of the founding anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on July 1. Among other dignitaries Xi was accompanied by Vice Premier Liu He, Qinghai Party Secretary Wang Jianjun and executive Deputy Party Secretary Xin Changxing who is also…
The newly elected Sikyong — President of Central Tibetan Administration — Penpa Tsering said that he would work to start the Sino-Tibetan dialogue in an interview to The Week. From 2002 to 2010, His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s envoys had nine rounds of talks and one informal talk with Chinese representatives. After 2010, the Sino-Tibetan dialogue remained a stalemate so far….
On 24th March, the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released a logo (image below) celebrating the 100th anniversary of its foundation. However, Tibetan refugees like me who have been the victims of the CCP for generations find it hard to find much worth celebrating. The latest Freedom House report marked Tibet as the…